5 things that will make your business stronger

Hey, how’s it going? I’m Andy Jones and this is episode 72 of the Photography Side Hustle podcast.

So last week I didn’t put out an episode because I got a nasty case of Covid. Anna, my better half got it first, then two days later it got me. Anyway, I was a bit worried about recording this as I have an annoying cough and the only thing that calms it down is chewing gum. So I’ll try to delete any chewing sounds during editing.

Ok, this week's subject is …

5 things that will make your business stronger

These are things that you need to monitor and control. Anyone of them if not set up properly could cause problems.

Backup for you

If you listened to the last episode, “Design your perfect business” I talked about deciding on the number of hours and days you can dedicate to your business. This is really important, but what happens if you fall ill and can’t make it to a session?

Now, if you shoot events, like weddings, birthdays, or sports, you can’t cancel and rebook them. If you don’t turn up to shoot a wedding it could damage your reputation, and ruin someone's big day.  So you need to have another photographer that you can go to in an emergency. Obviously, they need to be on the same kind of level as you. It’s no good approaching a wedding photographer that charges thousands of dollars more than you. If they charge their customers $5,000 for a wedding they won’t want to turn up for $1,500, even if you do the editing. 

There are lots of photographers that want to be employed and the thought of running their own business doesn’t appeal to them. You are an entrepreneur photographer, so employ these people and profit from their work.

When I was shooting sports events I would hire Photo-Journalism students from a local college as second shooters. I knew if I was sick I could send one of them in my place.

You need cover for any eventuality. If you shoot headshots, or products the chances are you can re-arrange your schedule without the need for another photographer. 

Whether you can re-arrange the shoot or not, your customers need to know what happens if you break your leg and can’t attend the session. 

So the next thing is …

The first time I put a contract together was when I started shooting weddings. It was very basic, listing who was hiring me, the time, length, the location of the event, and how long editing would take (2 weeks). 

I also had a financial section listing the deposit. Later I added that I required a meal, when the balance was due, and also that I would not start editing the images until the balance was paid in full. These requirements were added because I was shooting a wedding where the videographer was given a meal and I wasn’t. He had it in his contract, I didn’t. 

Then a week after the wedding the couple started asking me for the images. I told them I wasn’t going to start editing their images until they pay the account balance, and every week another wedding would take their place on the editing ladder. 

At the time I was upset, but it was my fault for not defining the rules.

After this wedding, I started using contracts for all my bookings. Not only does it set out all the rules, but it gives the customer some security. They know what they are buying into, and everything is above board with no gray areas.

Now I want to point out that I am not legally qualified to advise you on the wording of a contract. I did a search and there are plenty of websites with photography contracts. The first three I came across were eforms.com, honeybook.com, and shotkit.com. From the looks of it these are US based, so if you live outside of North America do your own search for ‘photography contracts”, I’m sure a local option will come up in the search results.

Deposits

When you’re starting out and you get a booking for a photo shoot you probably didn’t ask for a deposit. If you do require a deposit, excellent, I’m proud of you.

You need to take deposits at the time of booking. The booking isn’t booked until the customer has paid you some money.

If you don’t require a deposit people will make the booking and then not turn up. Your customers need to have some skin in the game. If they don’t turn up there is a consequence and it will cost them money.

The amount of the deposit is up to you. Many wedding photographers require 50% at the time of booking. If you’re doing mini portrait sessions for $99, ask for the full amount when booked. 

Don’t put yourself in the position where you take a $30 deposit, then drive 50 miles to the shoot and the customer is a no-show. If you took a $200 deposit the no-show wouldn’t feel quite as bad.

So make all your customers pay a deposit when they book your services.

Products Offered

If you offer products like framed prints and canvases you need to check on the availability and pricing of those products monthly. 

Let’s say your customer wants a 20”x30” metal print and it’s going to cost you $85. But after putting the order in you find out that the price for the 20”x30” metal print has gone up to $140. 

So now your options are to get it printed and lose $55 from your profit or check out other image processors and see if you can get it done cheaper. Using another processor will take a little longer and might delay the delivery of the print to your customer.

Keep an eye on the photo processor's websites or even make a call a couple of times a month to check everything you order is still available and priced the same. It’ll save you money and stop your customers from being disappointed.

Last but not least is …

All you need to worry about is having enough equipment to cover all eventualities, plus a second camera body, and a second lens.

If you use a 24-70mm lens that fails, you don’t need to have another identical lens. You can use a 50mm lens as a replacement. Using an older or cheaper camera body is fine as long as it’s the same system as your main body.

When you take a booking the customer is putting their trust in you. Imagine halfway through a wedding your camera body dies and you don’t have a backup. Weddings are enough of a headache, you don’t need to be worrying about your equipment failing too.

So pick up an old cheap backup camera body and go prepared.

Ok, those are the 5 things that will make your business stronger. Find some backup for you, use contracts, always take a deposit, stay on top of your product availability and pricing, and make sure you have backup equipment.

Right then, that’s it for this episode, I’ll be back next week with more waffle and a lot less covid. Bye